Finding Our Own Way
by flyfree1031
Summary: Klaus goes on a mad rampage with his new "mate" Hayley and destroys everything in Mystic Falls except for Caroline. She is left with no choice but to ask Elijah for help, they develop a friendship being each others' travel companions. They finally bump into Klaus after 500 years...
1. Beginnings

Finding Our Own Way part 1

Honestly, I ship Klaroline way more than Carolijah, but after 4x16 Caroline and Elijah are the only characters on the show I don't despise. I'm crying as I write this, I really wanted Klaroline to happen, but not after Hayley becoming Klaus' booty call.

*Elijah's POV*  
After months of living in solitude other than the few compelled humans, I didn't know whether to be worried or elated when I heard a knock at my door. It wouldn't be Niklaus for he would have waltzed right in, and Rebekah knew to respect my wishes. My curiosity only grew when I found the baby blonde vampire Niklaus fancied crying on my porch.  
"I'm so sorry, I have no idea where else to go..." she cried. "They're all dead!"  
He stared at her bewildered at her breakdown, he quickly composed himself, "would you like to come in?"  
A few minutes later, after a few cups of hot tea, she finally seemed calm enough to start explaining what she had been crying about. "Klaus came back to Mystic Falls with his new "mate" Hayley and they destroyed it. Elena, the Salvatores, Matt, my mom, even Tyler is dead... The only reason I'm still alive is because he said that I should suffer, and after what I did to him death was too easy."  
Watching the blonde, (Caroline was it?), crying, he felt oddly protective. Something he was not accustomed to feeling. "Please excuse me for being so straightforward, but how are you here?"  
She glanced at him looking confused, "didn't I already tell you that I had no where to go?"  
"But how did you know where I am?" he explains.  
"Bonnie did a locating spell b-before she died..." She whispers.  
"Are you alright?" He asks softly, afraid of the answer. She shakes her head, a movement that you wouldn't even notice if you weren't paying close attention. "You can stay with me." He says, answering the question that has been lingering since she arrived.  
And so it began...  
He started teaching her to defend herself during the day. Hearing her quiet heart wrenching sobs at night were painful, but he knew she didn't want him there. He knew about how memories of Niklaus destroying her home still plagued her as she slept. And yet, she never asked for help, never asked to have the memories erased. He knew she continued to drink vervain, never missed a dose, the acrid scent stinging the air. They quickly became friends, he was delighted to find a pupil who knew how to appreciate culture and art. She loved listening to his stories of times long ago, watching the way his face softened at the old memories. They traveled the world together, he showed her the world from his eyes. She had only one strange request, the first three places they visited were Rome, Paris, and Tokyo, she was adamant that they visited those places in that order. He never questioned her odd request, but as he saw her tears when they left Tokyo, he realized the truth of her feelings toward his brother. He took her to see the great walls of China, telling her of a Mongolian soldier he had met during the war. He showed her the great Pyramids of Giza, and told her how kind the priests were during his visit. Their journeys became a blur, but he found himself content. And for once he didn't feel lonely, her constant chatter was a welcome change to his former empty silence. She forced him to take pictures, even when he laughed and told her they would always be the same, they could always come back. She would tell him that the world still changed around them, and she wanted to capture the moments they were truly happy. She filled his libraries with scrapbooks and photo albums. They didn't run into Niklaus again until well after spending half a century together. They were the best of friends, enjoying their carefree life filled with laughter. He ran into Niklaus on a coffee run in London one day while Caroline was asleep, she never got up without her morning coffee. When Niklaus invited him over for dinner, he was conflicted as to whether he tell him about Caroline.  
"Niklaus, would it be alright if I brought a friend along?"  
Klaus stared at his brother for a few seconds in shock before saying, "I did not know you had a companion brother, very well."

"How do I look Elijah?" Caroline says twirling around for him. She is always bothering him about meeting his old acquaintances, and it is clear that she has dressed to impress tonight.  
"You look breathtaking, but we must hurry if not to be late!" urges Elijah. He feels nervous about Niklaus' reaction to Caroline, hoping that he wouldn't kill her. He also hopes that Caroline wouldn't be too angry at him. At least he knows she won't leave him, they'd been best friends for half a millennia now.  
"Hello brother!" Niklaus says as he greets them at the door. "Now where is that friend of yours you wanted... me to...meet?" He teases but trails off as he catches sight of Caroline, who had frozen in shock the second she saw him. They stare at each other in shocked silence for nearly a full minute before simultaneously turning to glare at Elijah.  
"Elijah!" they both yell at the same time.  
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" roars Niklaus.  
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" yells Caroline at the same time.  
"Please calm down you two!" demands Elijah rubbing his temple in frustration, his brother and best friend are too alike for their own good. "Now Niklaus, kindly allow us to come in and I will explain."  
Niklaus reluctantly opens the door just wide enough for the two of them to slip in, shutting it quickly.  
"Explain." Niklaus demands through gritted teeth, his fists are clenched and he's trying his best to ignore Caroline's presence. Caroline, for her part, is not hiding behind Elijah and using him as a meat shield as she would like to. Instead, she is meekly standing beside Elijah with her eyes fixed to the floor.  
"She found me after you destroyed Mystic Falls." states Elijah quietly.  
"Of course she did!" sneers Klaus, "and how long did it take for this little strumpet to fall into your bed?"  
Caroline's face contorted in fury, "I NEVER SLEPT WITH HIM! We're best friends!" she yells, her fear evaporating. Elijah felt proud of her for standing up for herself, Niklaus did tend to be harsh at times.  
Niklaus smirks, "well love, why would I believe that?"  
Elijah had taken enough, he needed to put a stop to this nonsense before Niklaus lost his temper. "Niklaus, she has never been more than a friend to me. I am telling you the truth, you have my word." Niklaus visibly relaxes after what he says, knowing that Elijah prides himself on never having gone back on his word in any of the 1500 years he'd been alive. "Well Niklaus, shall we have our meal?"  
"This way brother." Niklaus says smirking smugly at Caroline. Elijah looks at him worried, knowing that Niklaus must be planning something.  
"Niklaus? What are you planning brother?"  
Niklaus doesn't even answer as he rudely brushes past them to enter the dining room. He must really have a word with his brother about his manners. Niklaus immediately sits down in his throne-like chair at the head of the table. "Manners Niklaus!" he snaps, "can I have a word?"  
His brother looks at him, annoyed, but leads him to his study anyway, leaving Caroline to fend for herself.

Caroline strains her ears for the interesting conversation that must be happening somewhere in the house. She sits with her hands on her lap, staring at the goblet of blood in front of her. She would definitely get her revenge on Elijah for this, maybe she would leave a huge dent in his bank accounts. Retail therapy is always good for her. Maybe she would invite Bekah with her, her friend was always ready for a shopping spree. She and Rebekah had been wary of each other at first, but when it had soon come apparent that Elijah would not live without either of them, they decided to bury the hatchet. They soon realized their similarities and had become great friends. Back to what Klaus and 'Lijah are doing at the moment. At least Elijah seems to have finally finished chewing Klaus out. Klaus has a properly ashamed look on her face, and Elijah stares at him stonily with an unspoken warning. "Okay what's going on with you two?" Caroline yells, unable to stand the silence. Elijah merely stands up, giving Klaus another warning look before walking out the door and locking it.  
Klaus sighs before mumbling, "I'm sorry for what I did love, how can I acquiesce myself?"  
She narrows her eyes, "You are... sorry? That's the best you can come up with? You murdered everyone in my home town! And now? After 500 years of running, you say you're SORRY? Well sorry to burst your bubble but sorry doesn't cut it!" she rants.  
"Just so you know sweetheart, Elijah's not letting us out of this room until we are," he pauses, "at least not at at each other's throats" he corrects.  
"ELIJAH! I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE! I'M NEVER FORGIVING YOU FOR THIS!" she yells.

Meanwhile, Elijah is calmly deciding whether or not he should call Kol and Rebekah to help him with Niklaus and Caroline's relationship. He can faintly hear the sound of Caroline's voice yelling at him but chooses to let the two talk it out. He finally decides to call Kol, if anyone knew anything about loosening tension in a room, it would be him. Kol seems to always have some snarky or sexual joke he would love to share with everyone and boom! Tension's gone. Besides, his brother was always up for fun. Elijah cringed just thinking about the trail of bodies Kol would leave behind. Thankfully, Kol happened to be in Europe when he called and his brother promised to get there in a few hours. Kol spent most of his time traveling the world, picking up women along the way. He considers calling Rebekah too, knowing that she would have been disappointed to have missed this family reunion, but his sister was definitely going to be torn between the two. Niklaus was her favorite brother after all, but Caroline was also her best friend. A young woman stumbling into his study pulled him out of his thoughts. He stares at her confused as to how the human could have gotten here before a large tuba was shoved in front of him. A loud and deep sound emanated from it as it was blown. His ears are still ringing as Kol's cheeky grin appears from behind it. "Oh don't look surprised brother, you know how much I like my dramatic entrances brother!"  
"Did you come up with any ideas?"  
"What about Disneyland?"

God I am so lazy! I can't believe I started right after watching 4X16 and finally finished after 4X21 premiered. I seriously need someone screaming at me 24/7 to finish a fanfic! Well, I don't know if anyone will actually read this but yeah, hope you enjoyed it! The rest will just be more like a series of drabbles. Good job at being a lazy ass Stephanie, good job...


	2. Disneyland

Finding Our Own Way part 2

DISCLAIMER! I don't own TVD. I wish though, then Klaroline would happen, Kol would get proper respect, and Hayley would be dead. :D

"Disneyland?" He questions.  
"Yes Disneyland brother, surely that blonde has dragged you there at least once in the 500 years you traveled together."  
She had. Once. He cringes at the memory.

_It had been about 20 years after they'd started traveling together._  
_"Oh come on! Every person has gone to Disneyland at one point in their lives!" She protests. "Even the thousand year old original 'I'm so fact because I always wear a suit' Elijah."_  
_"Firstly Miss Forbes, you would do well to be more afraid of me. As you had previously stated, I am the oldest of the living originals, I could take off your head in the same time it would take you to realize what was happening." He threatens, she rolls her eyes, having realized long ago that he would never do such a thing to her. "Secondly, I did not know that dressing my best was a crime in this century. And third, why would you ever think that I would go to Disneyland." He enunciates the last word, trying to make her realize what she were truly asking him. He had been busy running from Niklaus at the time, he didn't have the time to waste. Even if he hadn't been on the run, he wouldn't have gone to the silly little amusement park. And so she mopes around and pouts until he finally caves and brings her to Disneyland. She grins brightly while dragging him onto many different contraptions. He finally realizes his grave mistake on the roller coaster. They had been going forward for a distance when he turns to her, making a comment about how they could clearly run faster than the speed they were going at. When he suddenly feels a strange falling sensation that he. Did. Not. Like. At. All. When he finally gets off the bloody contraption, he denies screaming like a little girl during the entire course of the ride. He completely denies his fear of heights. She only giggles hiding behind her back the picture they had of him screaming taken from the hidden camera._  
_He is still constantly being plagued by the photo. She sends him a picture every few decades. There is also a copy somewhere in one of her many scrapbooks._  
He breaks out of his reverie when Kol snaps his finger's in front of his face. "So Disneyland? Yes or no?" He questions.  
"You better appreciate my sacrifice for this Caroline!" He mumbled under his breathe before relying with, "yes."

Meanwhile

"Are you ever going to talk to me?" Says Klaus.  
She stares at him stonily. "Come on love! You can only ignore me for so long. I know for a fact that you can barely go 5 minutes without talking."  
"What gives you the right to be so presumptuous? Why would you automatically assume that I can't!" She yells, finally responding.  
Klaus smirks smugly and she realizes her mistake, immediately going back to ignoring him.  
He moves with his supernatural speed to stand in front of her, "how can I acquiesce myself sweetheart?"  
"You killed my friends, you left me for dead! There's nothing you CAN do!"  
"It's been 500 years love! You can't still hate me." He states.  
"I can, and I will!" She says turning away from him. "Let me out 'Lijah! PLEASE!" She yells.  
The door finally opens, revealing a very excited Kol. "Come on guys! We're going on a trip!" He yells excitedly.  
"I refuse to go anywhere with KLAUS" she spits out his name like it's poison.  
Elijah appears from behind Kol, "even if it's..." He trails off at the end and raises an eyebrow at her.  
"DISNEYLAND?" She slowly pronounces each syllable carefully, clearly not believing her bad luck.  
"Yes, now are we going to go?"  
She pauses, weighing her options before squealing, "YES! We're going to have so much fun 'Lijah!" She adds, winking while Klaus and Kol shoot each other confused looks. Elijah just sighs, probably already regretting his decision. Elijah liked to be in control, and willingly being on something that tosses you around was not something he liked doing.  
"Well! So let's meet back here tomorrow then..." Kol says after clearing his throat awkwardly.  
"Of course." Elijah says, leaving with a cheerful Caroline bounding after him.  
Klaus looks at them as though he were about to yell something at them, but then he feels Kol's hand on his shoulder. He turns to see his brother shaking his head at him.

"Come on! We need to get on every ride today at least once!" Yells Caroline as she runs from the car, she has Elijah by the hand and id dragging him towards the nearest rollercoaster. He just sighs as he signals for Kol and Klaus to follow. Elijah had long since learned that it was useless to resist Caroline Forbes, that sneaky little blonde could find and exploit anyone's weakness. She was so much like Niklaus that he sometimes forgot that she was, in fact, not his brother. Their stubborn, fiery tempers would definitely make family life so much more interesting. "Come on you two! Hurry up!" She yells, not bothering to look back and check because she expected to be obeyed.  
Klaus catches up to them, running at a slightly faster than human speed. "So love, why a roller coaster?"  
She only smirks in response, picking up her speed toward the ride.  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! SAVE ME! I NEED TO GET OFF THIS THING! PLEASE! HELP!" Screams Elijah as soon as they hit the loop. His string of curses follow them through the downward spiral. Mother's quickly move to cover their children's ears. Caroline, who was forced to sit next to Klaus, laughs with him as he witnesses Elijah's fear for the first time. By the end of the ride, the two are clutching each other for dear life in laughter, hoping not to fall. Elijah just has a very unamused look on his face, which only prompts the pair to laugh harder. The ride finally seems to be evening out, nearing the end.  
"Well brother, at least you got the two to start touching each other, I wonder what it will take for her to ride something else with him? Come on Elijah, we can make a bet."  
Caroline immediately turns around and punches him in the shoulder, but keeping her free hand on Klaus. "Kol, no. Just. No." She states.  
"No what darling?" Asks Klaus, who seems amused by her reaction.  
"No we are not doing what Kol was implying!"  
"And what is that sweetheart?" Teases Kol.  
"Do- didn't your parents have the birds and the bees talk with you?"  
"No, we were expected to find out on ourselves on our wedding night." States Klaus seriously.  
"Oh..." Mumbles Caroline, averting her eyes. Klaus chuckles at her embarrassment, causing Kol to roll his eyes.  
"Will you two stop with this?" He says, waving his hand between the two of them.  
"Nope!" They say together just as the rollercoaster screeches to a stop. Elijah immediately jumps off, which causes more laughter from the pair.  
"Again?" Asks Klaus with a raised eyebrow.  
"Again." Agrees Caroline, signaling Kol to drag Elijah back onto the seat he had previously vacated. And Elijah's face blood is immediately drained from his face.

I know the characters are incredibly OC, but I really needed some fluff. All the fanfics I've read are so angsty and just no...


	3. Talk

The Talk

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING**

**Oh and probably not something you would want to read if you don't fully understand the concept of the birds and the bees yet. Basically, MATURE LANGUAGE! **

"I hope you to can be more civilized this time, we'll come back for you in a while. Don't make me miss anything while we're gone!" Sings Kol as he shoves the two of us into the study.

"Niklaus, do refrain from breaking that table, it is an antique, it was also a gift from the queen." Elijah says as he closes the door.

"You know that I'm never going to forget what you did to my friends." Caroline states quietly as she stares into Klaus' eyes. He nods once slowly, waiting for her to continue. "But I will try my best to forgive you. So… What did Hayley mean when she said 'you should suffer, after what you did to him, death would be too easy'? What happened to her anyway?"

"You've thought about this a lot haven't you?" he says chuckling before he lowers his eyes. "She was… a mistake. A very clingy and annoying one night stand, but not the first, I usually kill those though. Definitely not worth all that trouble it took disentangling her from me. She thought it mean more than it really was, sex. She loved the idea of being mated to the alpha. She thought we would be 'mates for life' or something. I believe she was under the impression that I would turn her into a hybrid, she left after I killed the doppleganger. She thought you were stealing me away from her, seducing me into a trap. Not that I minded 'a little blonde distraction.'"

Caroline looked down when he mentioned his sexual relations with her, but couldn't find it in herself to be angry over something that happened over 500 years ago. "I'm assuming she died?"

"I don't know, I've never felt the need to track down a one night stand after she left."

"Seriously though Klaus, Hayley? I thought you'd have higher standards than that." she says giggling.

"I was bored and she was there. She had information, nothing else to it." he retorts.

"The great and powerful original hybrid, selling his body for information. I'm shocked. He's resorted to prostitution, shh! Don't let anyone else hear, this will tarnish your reputation forever!" she teases playfully.

"What about you love? If you haven't been with Elijah, then who else has been warming your bed all these years?" he clenches his jaw as he thinks about Caroline with other people.

"Oh, they've been in and out. I've been too busy traveling to be thinking about a relationship." she lies, knowing that she had had plenty of time to search for a boyfriend, but something had been holding her back. She finally admitted to herself that it was feelings for Klaus when she thought about the devastation she felt after Hayley told her about being Klaus' mate. He had put her through too much for her to tell him this easily though.

"Any boys in the present?"

"How do you know that it is a boy? I may have given up on all members of the opposite gender sometime during these past years."

"Well I should hope not, it would be too much of a shame for any man to have lost their chance, albeit tiny, to gain your affections." blushing at his words, Caroline looks carefully at him trying to understand the meaning behind them. Maybe it had been too much to hope for?

"Why didn't you try to contact me during the past 500 years sweetheart?" he whispers looking down.

"Why didn't you try to contact me?" she retorts, despite being happy that he had wanted her to.

"I thought you didn't want me to, I was respecting your decision." he replies.

"Nikl-" She begins, "sorry, I've been spending too much time with Elijah."

"Oh yes, my noble older brother," he says bitterly, "how did you end up with him as your traveling companion?"

"After _someone_ destroyed the only home I had known up till that point, I went to him, and he took me in. We've been best friends forever ever since." She explains.

"I thought we agreed that you wouldn't hold a grudge? How did you find him though? He'd been under the radar at the time, even I didn't know where he was."

"Well, I had asked Bonnie to perform a tracking spell on him after he vanished without a trace. I figured it might come in handy. My first choice would have been you, had you not been the one who left me without house and home."

He grinned when she mentioned that he had been her first choice outside of those in the small town they both spent their human years in. "Tracking an original love? Do you have a death wish?"

"Yes," she says with her best poker face, "there has just been this pesky original who has always stopped death before it reached me." She watches as his face falls when she says it before breaking into a grin. "I'm just joking Klaus, I'm grateful for all those times you've saved me, both physically and emotionally." He grins back at her, a genuine grin, one that only came out around her and his family.

"Do you realize, this is the nicest you've ever been to me?"

"I'm really sorry about all those times I've played a distraction, I really am."

"I'm sorry too." She looks surprised, probably because this is the first time she has ever heard him say those words. He continues, "for giving your friends the excuse to put your life on the line."

"Don't worry, they probably would have done it anyway. I think that if it wasn't for being in love with Elena and Stefan's interference, Damon wouldn't have let me live that long anyway. Collateral damage right? I mean, killing me would probably count as one of the most merciful things he would've ever done to me. I mean, anything is better than being a human blood bag and being drained while having no idea vampires existed because of compulsion. I wonder if I would've lived up to this age if they were all still alive, probably not." she mumbles mostly to herself, her eyes drifting as they filled with tears.

However, Klaus was an original hybrid, _the_ original hybrid, and he had impeccable hearing. His entire body stiffens and he clenches his fists as he hears her speak. He watches as she finally realizes where she is, blushing as she realizes what she just said. "I only wish that I had made him suffer more for as I killed him."

"Oh god Klaus, I shouldn't have said that! I mean he's already dead right? He's happy and with his love." She exclaims mortified at what she had revealed.

"Which is more than he deserves…" he mutters.

"So… What have you been doing with yourself?"

"Well seeing as how my family had seemed to disappear off the face of the Earth, I mostly stayed at home, enjoying the art of wrestling." He says suggestively, winking at her.

"You sir, are worse than Kol."

"I know. Let's call a truce for now." He says, "I highly doubt Elijah would leave you out of family nights, and we'll probably be spending a lot of time together."

"We were friends once, we can be again. If you'd like…" she offers.

"That would be amazing love." After he says this he turns and watches as an exasperated Kol appears opening the door.

"Come on you two! KISS ALREADY! I ship you two so much! THE FEELS!" Kol, unbeknownst to them, had become quite a fanboy sometime in the years they'd been apart. He had discovered early on that he loved the way girls dressed in anime conventions. He had also tried joining a nudist colony, but had gotten kicked out for making too many inappropriate gestures toward the many young girls. He joined another one a few years later, but much to his dismay, found that it was filled with men who tried to rape him as soon as they saw him. And as far as the police were concerned, a colony that had never existed.

"Kol. Get out of here before I-"

"Oh Nik, we're not back to the dagger threats are we?" he teases.

"Just get out Kol!" yells Caroline.

"Very well, I know when I'm not wanted." says Kol, with a look of mock hurt on his face.

"No you don't…" sings Caroline as he shuts the door.

"So love, lets start over again." suggests Klaus

"Blank slate." agrees Caroline.

Oh god, I am so terrible at forcing myself to commit to doing something…


End file.
